In August of 2003, I helped chaperone a group of high school theater students to attend the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. I had a day off when the kids were attending a program at one of the local high schools. Hmm, what to do? I grabbed my crappy camera loaded with cheap film and went for a train ride. My train on track 16 at Waverley Station. I was going as far as Inverkeithing which would take me over the famous Forth Bridge. The station at Inverkeithing. Only had to wait a short time for a train going back over the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh. I got off again after crossing the bridge at the South Queensferry and could look back at the bridge. I took a walk into town to get a better shot looking over a car park.
I watched a documentary months ago on this bridge, and the maintenance they must do on it--literally a continuous painting project that never ends.
Notice the tarps on the small section between the two spans on the left above the tug boat. They were sand blasting and painting at that point on that day.
It is almost a requirement whenever a bridge with lots of iron or steel crosses a body of sea water. For instance, here is a quote from a page on the Golden Gate Bridge.
Even though it's all fresh water, the same continuous painting and maintenance is true for the Mighty Mackinaw bridge connecting the Upper Penninsula to lower Michigan over the Straights of Mackinaw where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron connect.
